Method for Conducting a Horse Racing Event

ABSTRACT

A method for conducting a race series, involving determining an elimination number; determining a field number, wherein the field number minus one is equally divisible by the elimination number; selecting a field number of participants; separating the field number of participants into the elimination number of racing groups; conducting a plurality of races wherein each race has a winner; conducting a first race between all participants in the first racing group; conducting at least an elimination number minus one of races subsequent to the first race; wherein each of races subsequent to the first race is conducted between the participants in any of the racing groups and winner of the previous race; and continuing to conduct races subsequent to the first race until a single winner wins an elimination number of consecutive races or there are the elimination number plus one different winners.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of horse races. More specifically, the present invention relates to conducting a multi-day horse racing event that includes a single race per day on consecutive days and an opportunity to determine a single overall winner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Horse races have traditionally been held as single day events or a series consisting of single races separated by a period of multiple days. Additionally, existing horse race series do not involve the same horses at each event.

As a result, there exists a need for a horse racing event that determines an ultimate winner of a given group of horses in which not all horses in the group race each other at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in mind, embodiments of the present invention are related to a racing series. Furthermore, the racing series may advantageously combine multiple, consecutive days of racing with multiple attempts for participants to beat all other participants in the series

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method is described for conducting a racing series event in which an overall winner may be determined only if the overall winner beats every other participant remaining in the event. In such a method, an elimination number must be determined, which determines the number of consecutive wins that a participant must collect to be declared the overall winner.

A field number must also be chosen. The field number is equal to the total number of participants in the event. Each participant in the field may be placed into a racing group. There will be an elimination number of racing groups with one racing group having one more participant than the remaining racing groups. Each participant will be initially placed in exactly one racing group. The racing group with the one extra participant will compete in a first race. The winner of the first race will then compete against all the participants in the second racing group. The winner of each previous race will compete against the participants in the next racing group until each racing group has raced at least once. When the last racing group has competed, an overall winner will be declared if the same participant won each of the races. If the same participant has not won each race, racing will continue until there have been an elimination number plus one different winners of races or an overall winner has been declared.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the inventive method.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of the inventive method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method is shown for conducting a racing series event in which an overall winner may be determined only if the overall winner beats every other participant remaining in the event. In such a method, an elimination number must be determined 101. The elimination number determines how many different groups of participants will be required. The elimination number also determines the number of consecutive wins that a participant must collect to be declared the overall winner. In addition, the elimination number may determine the total number of winners that may win at least a single race in the series before determining that no overall winner will be determined. In one embodiment of the inventive race series, the elimination number must be greater than one.

A field number must also be chosen 102. The field number is equal to the total number of participants in the event. To have all racing groups contain the same number of participants, it may be desirable to choose a field number that solves the following equation:

Field number=(x*elimination number)+1

where x may be any number and there will be a maximum of x+1 participants competing in each race.

A field number of participants must be selected to participate in the race series 103. The participants may be chosen, by way of example and not as a limitation, by random lottery-type drawing, by the organizer of the event, by qualifying races, or the like.

Each participant may be placed into a racing group 104. There will be an elimination number of racing groups with one racing group having one more participant than the remaining racing groups. Each participant will be initially placed in exactly one racing group. The racing group with the one extra participant will compete in a first race 105. The winner of the first race will then compete against all the participants in the second racing group 106. The winner of each previous race will compete against the participants in the next racing group until each racing group has raced at least once 107. When the last racing group has competed, an overall winner will be declared if the same participant won each of the races 108. If the same participant has not won each race, racing will continue until there have been an elimination number plus one different winners of races 109 or an overall winner has been declared.

After a participant has won any race in the series and then lost a successive race, the participant may be removed from the series and may no longer compete in subsequent races. Therefore, any time after the first time that each race group races, there may be fewer participants in the race. For example, and not as a limitation, if the elimination number is 2 and the field number is 23, each participant may be assigned a number 1 through 23. Participants 1 through 12 may be assigned to the first group and compete in the first race with participant number 1 winning that race. Participant number 1 may then race against the second group, which includes participants number 13 through 23. Participant number 13 may win the second race. Participant number 13 may then race the first group, which now includes only participants number 2 through 12 as participant number 1 may have been removed from the series. In the event that participant number 13 wins the race against the first group, participant number 13 is the overall winner and racing concludes. In the event that participant number 13 does not win the race against the first group, racing concludes without an overall winner as there have been 3 different winners of races in the series.

Each race may be held on a race course, which may be a generally ovular race track of the kind known to those skilled in the art of horse racing. In one embodiment of the inventive method, each race may be a distance of seven furlongs along a race course and may include at least a 180 degree turn between the start of the race and the end of the race.

In one embodiment of the inventive method, each race may be held on a different day. In one embodiment of the inventive method, each race may be held on consecutive days. In one embodiment of the inventive method, each participant in the race series may be a horse. Each horse competing in the race series may be referred to as a racehorse. In some embodiments of the inventive method, each participant may be a four-year-old horse. The age of the horse may be determined as of the day prior to racing, the first day of racing, the last day of the event, or the like. In one embodiment of the inventive method, none of the participants may be geldings. In one embodiment of the inventive method, none of the participants may be hit, stricken, encouraged, scared, motivated, or the like by a whip during the race. In one embodiment of the inventive method, no jockey riding a participant in the race may carry or utilize a whip, or the like, during the course of the race series.

In one embodiment of the inventive race method, the starting position of each participant may be determined randomly, by qualifying races, by race management, or the like.

In one embodiment of the inventive race method, each participant may be paraded for three days prior to the first race of the series. Displaying a participant may mean to parade the participant. Parading a participant may entail walking or riding the participant on the race course or in the general vicinity of the race course. Displaying a participant may further entail walking the participant for a distance at least as great as one furlong.

Each race in the series may be conducted on a different day. There may be essentially 24 hours between each race in the series. Spectators may view or wager on the race series. The odds on each race in the series may freeze, that is, remain static, once each race in the series has commenced.

In one embodiment of the inventive method the elimination number may be 4, the field number may be 61, and the participants may be horses. On each of the first three days all 61 horses may be displayed. In such an embodiment, the participants would be divided into 3 groups of 15 and one group of 16. The group of 16 would be the first group and the three remaining groups would be the second group, the third group, and the fourth group.

The first group of 16 participants would compete in an initial race, which would begin at a race start and conclude when the first participant reached the race end. The winner of that initial race would then race the second group of 15 participants in a second race. The winner of the second race would race the third group of 15 participants in a third race. The winner of the third race would race the fourth group of 15 participants in a fourth race. If the winner of the initial, second, third, and fourth races is the same participant, the race series event would be complete and the winner of all the races would be declared the overall winner. However, if the same participant does not win all of the first four races, the racing continues with each group racing the winner of the previous race until either an overall winner is determined (by that single participant winning four races in a row) or more than four participants have won races. Each horse that has won a race and then does not win a subsequent race may be removed from the race series and may not compete in any further races.

In one embodiment of the inventive method, depicted in FIG. 2, the elimination number is set at four 201. The field number is set at sixty-one 202. The sixty-one participants will be chosen by the organizer of the event, based on the participants past qualifying races 203. Each participating racehorse will be paraded on each of the three days prior to the first race. The racehorses will be paraded by walking the horses, riders will not be allowed on the racehorses during the three days immediately prior to the start of the race. Each participant in the field will be placed into a racing group 204. One racing group will have 16 horses; the other three racing groups will have 15 horses each. The racing group with 16 horses will compete first 205. The winner of the first race will then compete against all the participants in the second racing group 206. Then this winner will compete against the participants in the next racing group until each racing group has raced at least once 207. When the last racing group has competed, an overall winner will be declared if the same participant won each of the four consecutive races 208. If the same participant has not won each race, racing will continue until the same horse has won four consecutive races or five different horses have won a race 209. In this embodiment, the race will be a distance of seven furlongs and the race course will include a 180 degree turn between the start of the race and the end of the race. In this embodiment, each horse competing in the race event will be a four-year-old horse and none of the racehorses may be geldings. Furthermore, in this embodiment, no jockey may carry a whip. The starting position of each participant will be determined by race management. Each horse will be paraded for three days prior to the first race of the series. Parading a participant entails walking (no running, trotting, etc. . . . ) the participant on the race course or in the general vicinity of the race course. Each race in the series is conducted on a different day. There are 24 hours between each race in the series. Spectators may both view and wager on the race series. The odds on each race in the series will freeze, remain static, once each race in the series has commenced.

The foregoing examples have been provided in the interest of clarity to illustrate an embodiment of the present invention in substantial detail. A person of skill in the art will appreciate additional embodiments are included within the scope and spirit of the present invention, after having the benefit of this disclosure. Furthermore, a skilled artisan will appreciate that the operations described above, along with additional operations that would be apparent to those in the art, may be performed exclusively, incrementally, sequentially, simultaneously, or any other operative configuration.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for conducting a race series, the method comprising: determining an elimination number; determining a field number, wherein the field number minus one is equally divisible by the elimination number; selecting a field number of participants; separating the field number of participants into the elimination number of racing groups wherein there are elimination number minus one racing groups with an equal number of the field number of participants and a first racing group with a number of the participants equal to one plus the quotient of the difference of the field number minus one divided by the elimination number; conducting a plurality of races wherein each race has a winner; conducting a first race between all participants in the first racing group; conducting at least the elimination number minus one of the plurality of races subsequent to the first race wherein each race subsequent to the first race has a previous race wherein the previous race is the race conducted immediately prior to each of the races subsequent to the first race, and wherein each of races subsequent to the first race is conducted between the participants in any of the racing groups and winner of the previous race; and continuing to conduct races subsequent to the first race until the winner wins the elimination number of consecutive races or there are the elimination number plus one different winners.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the field number of participants comprise racehorses.
 3. The method according to claim 1 wherein each of the field number of participants comprise a racehorse that has attained the age of four-years-old before the start of the first race.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the elimination number is four.
 5. The method according to claim 2 wherein none of the racehorses is a gelding.
 6. The method according to claim 2 wherein each of the racehorses is ridden by a jockey and no jockey may utilize a whip.
 7. The method according to claim 1 wherein a starting position of each of the participants is determined randomly.
 8. The method according to claim 1 wherein each of the field number of participants is displayed prior to the first race.
 9. The method according to claim 9 wherein displaying a participant further comprises walking the participant at least one furlong.
 10. The method according to claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of races comprises a race distance of 7 furlongs.
 11. The method according to claim 1 wherein each the plurality of races further comprises a 180 degree turn between a race start and a race end.
 12. The method according to claim 1 wherein a wager having odds may be placed on each of the plurality of races and wherein the odds remain static after the start of each of the plurality of races.
 13. A method for conducting a horse race series, the method comprising: selecting sixty-one horses; displaying each of the sixty-one horses on day one; displaying each of the sixty-one horses on day two; displaying each of the sixty-one horses on day three; selecting a first group comprising sixteen of the sixty-one horses; selecting a second group comprising fifteen of the sixty-one horses; selecting a third group comprising fifteen of the sixty-one horses; selecting a fourth group comprising fifteen of the sixty-one horses; wherein each of the sixty-one horses is in either the first group, the second group, the third group, or the fourth group; conducting a plurality of races, wherein each of the plurality of races has a start, wherein each of the plurality of races is conducted along a race track extending between a race start and a race end, wherein a distance between the race start and the race end is a race distance, and wherein each of the plurality of races has a winner; conducting a first race between all horses in the first group, wherein the winner of the first race is a first winner; conducting a second race between all horses in the second group and the first winner, wherein the winner of the second race is a second winner; conducting a third race between all horses in the third group and the second winner wherein the winner of the third race is a third winner; conducting a fourth race between all horses in the fourth group and the third winner wherein the winner of the fourth race is a fourth winner; wherein if the second winner is a different horse than the first winner, the third winner, or the fourth winner, a fifth race is conducted between a plurality of horses in the first group and the fourth winner, wherein the winner of the fifth race is a fifth winner; wherein if the third winner is a different horse than the second winner, the fourth winner, or the fifth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a sixth race is conducted between a plurality of horses in the second group and the fifth winner, wherein the winner of the sixth race is a sixth winner; wherein if the fourth winner is a different horse than the third winner, the fifth winner, or the sixth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a seventh race is conducted between a plurality of horses in the third group and the sixth winner, wherein the winner of the seventh race is a seventh winner; wherein if the seventh winner is a different horse than the fourth winner, the fifth winner, or the sixth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, an eighth race is conducted between a plurality of horses in the fourth group and the seventh winner, wherein the winner of the eighth race is an eighth winner; wherein if the eighth winner is a different horse than the fifth winner, the sixth winner, or the seventh winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a ninth race is conducted between the plurality of horses in the first group and the eighth winner, wherein the winner of the ninth race is a ninth winner; wherein if the ninth winner is a different horse than the sixth winner, the seventh winner, or the eighth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a tenth race is conducted between the plurality of horses in the second group and the ninth winner, wherein the winner of the tenth race is a tenth winner; wherein if the tenth winner is a different horse than the seventh winner, the eighth winner, or the ninth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, an eleventh race is conducted between the plurality of horses in the third group and the tenth winner, wherein the winner of the eleventh race is an eleventh winner; wherein if the eleventh winner is a different horse than the eighth winner, the ninth winner, or the tenth winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a twelfth race is conducted between the plurality of horses in the fourth group and the eleventh winner, wherein the winner of the twelfth race is a twelfth winner; wherein if the twelfth winner is a different horse than the ninth winner, the tenth winner, or the eleventh winner and there have been no more than four different winning horses, a thirteenth race is conducted between the plurality of horses in the first group and the twelfth winner, wherein the winner of the thirteenth race is a thirteenth winner; wherein if the first winner, the second winner, the third winner, and the fourth winner is the same horse, the fourth winner is designated the overall winner and the horse race series is complete; wherein if the fifth winner is the same horse as the second winner, the third winner, and the fourth winner, the fifth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the sixth winner is the same horse as the third winner, the fourth winner, and the fifth winner, the sixth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the seventh winner is the same horse as the fourth winner, the fifth winner, and the sixth winner, the seventh winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the eighth winner is the same horse as the fifth winner, the sixth winner, and the seventh winner, the eighth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the ninth winner is the same horse as the sixth winner, the seventh winner, and the eighth winner, the ninth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the tenth winner is the same horse as the seventh winner, the eighth winner, and the ninth winner, the tenth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the eleventh winner is the same horse as the eighth winner, the ninth winner, and the tenth winner, the eleventh winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the twelfth winner is the same horse as the ninth winner, the tenth winner, and the eleventh winner, the twelfth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete; wherein if the thirteenth winner is the same horse as the tenth winner, the eleventh winner, and the twelfth winner, the thirteenth winner is designated the overall winner and the event is complete, and; wherein if no winner is designated the overall winner, the horse race series is complete without designating the overall winner.
 14. The method according to claim 13 wherein none of the sixty-one horses is a gelding.
 15. The method according to claim 13 wherein each of the sixty-one horses is four-years-old on the day prior to day one.
 16. The method according to claim 13 wherein each of the sixty-one horses is ridden by a jockey and no jockey may utilize a whip.
 17. The method according to claim 13 wherein displaying a horse further comprises walking the horse at least one furlong.
 18. The method according to claim 13 wherein the race distance comprises 7 furlongs.
 19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the race track further comprises a 180 degree turn between the race start and the race end.
 20. The method according to claim 13 wherein a wager having odds may be placed on each of the plurality of races and wherein the odds remain static after the start of each of the plurality of races. 